A decade ago, Emily Ann Roberts belted Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” during Blind Auditions on The Voice season 9. Landing on coach Blake Shelton’s team, she nearly won the entire season, finishing runner-up behind Jordan Smith from Team Adam Levine. After admittedly struggling to find a foothold in country music, she received a lifeline from her former coach when Shelton invited her on the road with him last year. Roberts, 26, recently shared what the “Boys Round Here” crooner has taught her.
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Emily Ann Roberts Is Opening For Blake Shelton
A decade after nearly winning The Voice, Emily Ann Robert linked up with coach Blake Shelton for his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour in 2024. Now, she’s back at it again this year on Shelton’s Friends & Heroes Tour. Earlier this month, the “He Set Her Off” singer-songwriter dazzled a sold-out crowd in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.
“And that is something that you can’t even put a price tag on — the opportunity to stand in front of an audience that size and share your music with them is just invaluable,” Roberts told Us Weekly in an interview published online March 14. “But also to be able to stand at front of house while he plays every single night and learn from him is better than any college or training you could ever have, because you’re learning from a pro who has done this for more years than I’ve probably been alive, almost, and done it so well.”
[RELATED: Blake Shelton Announces New Leg of Back To The Honky Tonk Tour]
While some stars project an “untouchable” presence, it’s the opposite with Shelton, Roberts says.
‘Blake is the kind of person that makes you feel like y’all are friends from the minute he steps on the stage,” she said. “And that is really special to get to learn from somebody like that.”
Blake Shelton Has Always Looked Out For Her
Since her time on The Voice, Emily Ann Roberts has released her debut album, 2023’s Can’t Hide Country. Now she is working on a follow-up, dropping her latest single, “Scratching Out a Living,” on March 14.
And Roberts says that Blake Shelton’s support didn’t run out when The Voice ended. “I’ll never forget when I got off The Voice, he was calling me,saying, ‘So-and-so wants to meet with you, and I got this buddy that wants to work with you,’” she said. “He would call me out of the blue and make connections and check on me. He has just been such a great mentor.”
Featured image by Jason Koerner/Getty Images
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